SF Democratic Party must stay democratic

Guest Opinion

by Arlo Hale Smith, Debra Walker, and Keith Baraka

Little noticed amid the current once-per-decade state and
federal redistricting process is a reapportionment question involving San
Francisco's local Democratic Party, which could result in significant
underrepresentation for the city's eastern side – a bastion of diversity
that has traditionally been key to the political empowerment of the LGBT
community and other minority groups.

At issue is the apportionment of members on the Democratic
County Central Committee, or DCCC, the elected governing body of a local
political party that is among the most vibrant and influential in California.

Under state law as it has existed for the last decade, San
Francisco allocates representation on its Democratic Party committee evenly
between the city's two Assembly districts, with 12 members from each. But with
state legislative redistricting all but finalized, San Francisco's Assembly
districts are set to change.

The newly redrawn eastern district (the 17th Assembly
District, represented by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano) will now encompass a larger
share of San Francisco, and account for about 61 percent of the city's over
260,000 registered Democratic voters.

Meanwhile, the city's western district (the 19th Assembly
District, represented by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma) will include fewer San
Francisco precincts together with part of San Mateo County. It will account for
about 39 percent of San Francisco's registered Democrats.

Just like state and federal legislative districts, party
committees, too, undertake a process of reallocating their representation every
10 years – and it should be completed by the June primary election. That
has left only a small window in which to act. Fortunately, both of San
Francisco's LGBT state legislators – state Senator Mark Leno and Ammiano
– have agreed to support legislation that will ensure proportional
representation on the city's DCCC.

Still, no reapportionment recommendation has yet to secure
the necessary consensus among Democratic committee members to win passage
– or ensure successful legislative enactment in Sacramento.

Two proposals

So far, two proposals have emerged to address the
proportional inequity. One would preserve the DCCC's current membership total
of 24, but designate that there be 10 representatives from the western Assembly
District and 14 from the eastern Assembly District. Another proposal would
expand total membership on the committee to 29, with five additional members
added to represent the more heavily Democratic 17th Assembly District. Either
proposal will achieve proportional representation between the new districts.

But without decisive action in reaching a consensus
proposal, San Francisco's Democratic Party could maintain a 50-50 apportionment
split that is both fundamentally unfair and that further disenfranchises
already underrepresented minority communities in the city's eastern
neighborhoods. Indeed, underrepresentation among minority communities is
already a concern on the DCCC, which doesn't currently include a single elected
African American member.

Now is the time for the DCCC to decisively support one of
these proposals or face a decidedly unappealing political scenario. Given that
Republicans offer proportional representation on their elective party committee
based on party registration, the local Republican Party could end up being moredemocratic than the Democratic Party
– and that's an embarrassment Democrats should want to avoid.

If all this seems like an inconsequential political
squabble, think again.

Apart from delivering the most coveted and influential
endorsements in local politics, the Democratic County Central Committee has
historically been an important farm team for emerging political leaders –
especially leaders who represent minority communities.
Both out gay supervisors, David Campos
and Scott Wiener, began their careers by first winning election to the DCCC.
And strong straight allies of the LGBT community like City Attorney Dennis
Herrera (a Latino) and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu (a Chinese
American) both cut their teeth in local politics as DCCC members.

San Francisco's Democratic Party organization also plays an
enormously important role in statewide politics. In partnership with organized
labor and a handful of other vibrant local Democratic parties statewide, its
ability to deliver a strongly progressive turnout among Democratic voters
citywide can offset the influence of more heavily Republican counties
elsewhere. That can mean the margin of victory for pro-LGBT and progressive
candidates – as it did in then-District Attorney Kamala Harris's
successful 2010 bid for California attorney general. Indeed, high Democratic
turnout in San Francisco is typically an essential component of statewide
coalitions to pass progressive statewide ballot measures – and to defeat
those intended to hurt consumers or the environment.

Our local Democratic Party committee should aspire to expand
on its roles of encouraging tomorrow's LGBT and minority community leaders,
while continuing to demonstrate progressive leadership statewide. It's hard to
imagine how that can be accomplished, however, if our city's most diverse
neighborhoods are systematically underrepresented on the local party committee.

It's critical that our local Democratic Party be democratic.
That's why San Francisco's DCCC must reach consensus on a proposal to assure
proportional representation to all San Francisco Democrats, and why state
legislators must work to enact it.

Arlo Hale Smith is an elected member of
the DCCC from the 12th Assembly District; Debra Walker is an elected member of
the DCCC from the 13th Assembly District; and Keith Baraka was a candidate for
DCCC in 2010.